WSL2 fails to start on Windows 11 Build 26100 error 0x80070001

[MABAO-AI]

Windows Version

Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26100 24H2

WSL Version

2.6.3.0

Are you using WSL 1 or WSL 2?

• WSL 2
• WSL 1

Kernel Version

6.6.87.2-1

Distro Version

No Linux distribution is currently installed, as all attempts to install or register a WSL 2 distribution fail with error 0x80070001. However, WSL 1 distributions (e.g., Ubuntu, Debian) can be installed and run successfully. The issue appears to affect all distributions equally, as it stems from the WSL 2 virtualization layer (HCS), not the distribution itself.

Other Software

No response

Repro Steps

I have successfully enabled and used WSL 2 on multiple machines in the past.

However, on three separate devices running Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26100.7462, I consistently encounter the same failure:

Enable required Windows features:
powershell
dism.exe /online /enable-feature /featurename:Microsoft-Windows-Subsystem-Linux /all /norestart
dism.exe /online /enable-feature /featurename:VirtualMachinePlatform /all /norestart
Set WSL 2 as default:
powershell
wsl --set-default-version 2
Attempt to install any Linux distribution (e.g., Ubuntu, Debian) via:
powershell
wsl --install -d Ubuntu
→ Fails with:
text
WslRegisterDistribution failed with error: 0x80070001
Error: 0x80070001 ??????
Also tried importing a previously working WSL 2 distribution backup (via wsl --import), which also fails with the same error during registration.
In contrast, installing the same distributions with --version 1 succeeds immediately on all three machines.

Expected Behavior

After enabling the required Windows features (VirtualMachinePlatform and Microsoft-Windows-Subsystem-Linux) and setting WSL 2 as the default version, installing any Linux distribution (e.g., via wsl --install -d Ubuntu) should succeed without error.
The distribution should be registered, initialized, and run in WSL 2 mode, as observed on previous Windows builds (e.g., 22631, 22621) and confirmed working on other machines with stable or earlier Insider builds.
Similarly, importing a previously exported WSL 2 distribution using wsl --import should also succeed when --version 2 is specified.

Actual Behavior

All distributions are affected equally (Ubuntu, Debian, Kali tested).
WSL 1 works perfectly: Installing the same distributions with --version 1 succeeds immediately.
The vmcompute service is running, and no antivirus/firewall interference is present.
Event Viewer shows HCS log: "Failed to create compute system: The function is incorrect. (0x80070001)"

Diagnostic Logs

No response

[github-actions]

Logs are required for review from WSL team

If this a feature request, please reply with '/feature'. If this is a question, reply with '/question'.
Otherwise, please attach logs by following the instructions below, your issue will not be reviewed unless they are added. These logs will help us understand what is going on in your machine.

How to collect WSL logs

Download and execute collect-wsl-logs.ps1 in an administrative powershell prompt:

Invoke-WebRequest -UseBasicParsing "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/microsoft/WSL/master/diagnostics/collect-wsl-logs.ps1" -OutFile collect-wsl-logs.ps1
Set-ExecutionPolicy Bypass -Scope Process -Force
.\collect-wsl-logs.ps1

The script will output the path of the log file once done.

If this is a networking issue, please use collect-networking-logs.ps1, following the instructions in Collect WSL logs for networking issues

Once completed please upload the output files to this GitHub issue.

See Collect WSL logs (recommended method).

If you choose to email these logs instead of attaching them to the bug, please send them to wsl-gh-logs@microsoft.com with the GitHub issue number in the subject, and include a link to your GitHub issue comment in the message body, and reply with '/emailed-logs'.

[MABAO-AI]

WslLogs-2026-01-05_14-12-54.zip

WslLogs-2026-01-05_14-12-54.zip

[MABAO-AI]

Logs are required for review from WSL team

If this a feature request, please reply with '/feature'. If this is a question, reply with '/question'. Otherwise, please attach logs by following the instructions below, your issue will not be reviewed unless they are added. These logs will help us understand what is going on in your machine.

How to collect WSL logs

/question

[github-actions]

The log file doesn't contain any WSL traces. Please make sure that you reproduced the issue while the log collection was running.

Diagnostic information

Multiple log files found, using: https://github.com/user-attachments/files/24427883/WslLogs-2026-01-05_14-12-54.zip
Detected appx version: 2.6.3.0
Found no WSL traces in the logs

[github-actions]

Diagnostic information

Found '/question', adding tag 'question'

[OneBlue]

/logs

[Ping-Hung]

My laptop couldn't start WSL after Windows update yesterday, below is my laptop's windows information

  C:\Users\Nick>wsl --version
  WSL-Version: 2.6.3.0
  Kernelversion: 6.6.87.2-1
  WSLg-Version: 1.0.71
  MSRDC-Version: 1.2.6353
  Direct3D-Version: 1.611.1-81528511
  DXCore-Version: 10.0.26100.1-240331-1435.ge-release
  Windows-Version: 10.0.26200.7462

attached are logs

WslLogs-2026-01-06_06-58-05.zip